The Boy in the Attic
by Klexenia
Summary: Germany, the middle of the war, and Usopp finds he has worse problems than he ever feared. Part of the AU-Series Straws. (No matter when and where, somehow, he would always find them.)
1. (Luffy)

_No matter when and where, somehow, he would always find them. Inspired by __Aoihand/Aoi24's _multiverse challenge.

This story is part of _Straws,_ a series of AUs centering around the strawhats and their captain. This one might very well be the most personal.

Disc.: I don't own One Piece. Neither do I claim historical accuracy. It was a horrible time that should never, ever be repeated.

* * *

Sometimes, when Usopp closes his eyes, he can hear them. Sharp whistles, followed by ear-splitting explosions, the shattering of glass drowned out by crumbling buildings. His heart speeds up, and he races through the halls, shouting, until he reaches the Missus and tries to disappear in the folds of her long skirt.

"The bombs are coming," he tells them, "I can hear them."

She gives him The Look. That mixture of exasperation, annoyance and what he likes to think of as affection.

"Don't be silly," she says and pushes him away. "The only ones that are being bombed are the English. There won't be any bombs here. And why is that?"

Usopp opens his mouth obediently. "Because the Führer won't allow it. We'll win soon."

She nods, satisfied. He knows he is expected to leave, so he bites his lip and turns with hunched shoulders.

Behind him, he hears Carrot ask, "Is it true that he can hear the bombs?"

"No," the Missus says. "He is lying, like always."

Usopp's mouth moves in sync with Onion's voice: "That's why he has a long nose like Pinocchio!"

Laughter rings behind him, chasing him up the stairs. But he can still hear them, the whispers and mockeries, gossip about his father and mother and _what a coward, such a liar, how un-german_. Usopp can't fight voices, can't fight anything, so he runs where nothing will find him, clambering up the ladder to the attic and closing the hatch.

The musty air makes him smile proudly. He might not be good at many things, but hiding is sure one of them.

He turns around, coming face-to-face with two very big, black eyes.

His shriek is muffled by two hands.

"Sssshhhh," says the boy in a volume that probably makes every pigeon on the surrounding roofs fly up in panic. "You're supposed to be quiet!"

Usopp stares at him, wild-eyed, and discovers that the boy is very much serious. There's a scar under his left eye, and that doesn't stop the terrible shaking of Usopp's knees.

The boy drops his hands from Usopp's mouth and cocks his head to the side. "You're a coward, aren't you?"

A thousand answers and lies race through Usopp's head, he wants to say something about how that's ridiculous, he's got thousands of followers to back him up, but what comes out instead is: "There's a star on you shirt. A-a-and the swastika."

The boy looks down on his lapels in puzzlement. Then he laughs and smiles brightly. "Oh yeah! My brothers had them, so I wanted to wear it too!"

Usopp gulps and tries to figure out which question following such a statement would have the least terrifying answer.

"So, uhm, your brothers," he brings out finally, "They're ... where?"

"Oh, they left." The boy waves his hand dismissively. "They said I should stay here until they come back." He beckons Usopp forward, as if to tell him a secret. "It's safe here."

Then he frowns, because Usopp has started swaying and is probably slightly green in his face. "Hey, are you okay?"

_No,_ Usopp thinks and faints.

-X-

Usopp blinks and is greeted by a spider rappelling down from the roof beams.

_It was all just a dream_, he thinks with great relief. _I didn't just find a Jew hiding in my attic._

"Say, do you have something to eat?"

Usopp jumps and his head flies around to find the boy sitting next to him, picking his nose. He stares at him for a while, before the boy huffs.

"Well, do you?" he demands. "I'm starving."

Usopp shakes his head quickly, and the boy's face falls. A loud rumbling echoes in the woodwork, and they both stare down at the boy's stomach. For the first time, Usopp sees how unnaturally skinny he is.

Before he can think, he's already stuttering. "B-bu-but I can b-bring you s-something, ma-maybe."

He already regrets saying it, but the boy's eyes light up. "Really? Do you have meat?"

Meat is a rarity in war. Usopp is lucky they have a piece on sundays. Smuggling food away is terrible enough, but meat is impossible. One would think runaway Jews have other priorities, Usopp muses.

"No," he tells him.

The boy nods with a look of habitual disappointment. "Okay. I'm Luffy." He grins. "I'm gonna be a Free Man one day!"

The term sounds like an infamous title out of his mouth, and it should sound ridiculous, especially considering what and where he is. But Luffy says it with so much conviction that Usopp somehow finds himself believing him immediately.

"I'm Usopp," he tells him, and before he can stop it, he says, "I'm going to be a brave man someday!"

It's embarrassing, because saying it means he's not, but he's supposed to be. He almost retreats his hand to hide his face in it, but the boy is faster and snatches it.

Luffy smiles at him and shakes his hand, and Usopp knows he has just signed his death sentence.

-X-

Hiding a national fugitive, Usopp discovers quickly, is not only extremely dangerous and against every rule he was ever taught, it's also next to impossible. Usopp hopes for the sake of everyone dumb enough to offer a hiding spot that not every jewish boy is like Luffy.

The boy doesn't do anything halfway, except maybe hiding, apparently. He laughs and runs and jumps and talks Usopp's ears off, and it's not even about important stuff, like the war raging outside. It should be taking up every space under the roof like an elephant, but Luffy parades all over it as if it wasn't there. His favorite topics are bugs and his brothers, telling Usopp everything he never wanted to know about both.

Except, Luffy never tells him about their parents, or why his stories only contain the three of them, or even who they are and Usopp wonders how those brothers ever managed to keep the boy alive. Almost every waking hour, Usopp spends fearing discovery. That the other boys remember the attic. That the Missus hears the sound of Luffy's feet on the planks, or his laughter, or sees him steal something out of the panty, because Luffy is so impossibly loud and always, always hungry. He gulps down what little food Usopp can hide in his napkin and then looks up to him with puppy dog-eyes, begging for more. And Usopp shakes his head and tries to drown out the sound of Luffy's stomach by telling him stories.

Luffy likes his stories. They're impossible and full of made-up gadgets and far-off worlds and nobody ever likes them, maybe because the heros aren't big and strong and blonde, they're often weak and skinny and have black hair and long noses and are armed with nothing more than a slingshot. Usopp tells Luffy this, once, and the boy frowns.

"I'm strong," he pouts. "They just hate your stories because everyone's free there and everyone can be brave, and they want it, too - but they're afraid to take it."

And Usopp will save his piece of meat the following sunday for him, because he starts to have nightmares about soldiers finding Luffy and taking him, and he's suddenly very sure that this boy can not be allowed to die.

-X-

The problem is, it's not enough. Because one day, when Usopp comes back from school and Kaya is with him to do an assignment, he opens the door to his room to find Luffy sitting on his bed.

Usopp jumps back and slams the door, before Kaya can glance past him.

"S-sorry," he stutters and blushes, "It's, uh, it's terribly messy! We can–" The gears in his head turn furiously. "We better do it in the sitting room! There's more space there! You-you can go ahead, I'll be down in a minute!"

He smiles at her in what he hopes is a very convincing manner, and after a moment of silence, she returns it.

"Okay," she says easily and coughs into her sleeve, "If it's that awful."

Usopp nods feebly and waits until her blonde hair disappeared under the upper stair, before he opens his door again.

Luffy looks back at him with a tilted head.

"What are you doing down here?!" Usopp hisses and shuts his door quickly. "What if someone sees you!"

Luffy shrugs. "I was hungry. And bored. Do you have food? Who was the girl? Can I meet her?"

"No!" Usopp sprints over and grabs him by the arm. A shock goes through him, because his fingers come all the way around it. He lets go as if he's been burned.

"Why?" Luffy hasn't noticed. "Please?"

"No," Usopp repeats, searching desperately for an answer that Luffy would understand. "Remember what your brothers told you? They said you should stay hidden! Nobody should know where you are!"

Luffy pouts. "But you know!"

_Because you're lucky it was just me, _Usopp thinks. Even if he were to tell anyone, they would just laugh. Everyone knows Usopp is a coward and always, always lies. But it would be so incredibly foolish to risk it.

"I don't have anything to eat now," he says instead, "and if you don't go back up and they discover you, we'll both die."

Usopp counts the heartbeats that pass, until Luffy heaves a deep sigh and climbs off his bed. After he makes sure the coast is clear, Usopp waits until the boy has disappeared back up the ladder and has closed the hatch, before he stumbles down the stairs to Kaya. He can't concentrate, every time his fingers tighten on his pen he remembers how he was holding a stick and no arm. He could swear he could feel the bone.

_I'm strong_, Luffy's voice echoes through his head. Usopp looks down on their essay about the race theory and bits back a sob. He can't do this. He barely survives the Hitler Youth, wouldn't if he weren't so good with a gun and without Sanji having his back, how can he ...

_Sanji._

Usopp can feel Kaya looking strangely at him from the sides because of his rapid mood-changes, but he can't help the relieved smile that's blooming on his face. He might not be able to do this alone, but there might be a chance he won't need to.

* * *

_Reviews make me happy. How about guessing what kind of WWII character each straw-hat will be?_


	2. (Sanji)

_Thank you for your kind reviews. That guess for Zoro and Nami is ... let's say to 25% in the right direction. Keep guessing! :) _

* * *

Usopp makes sure that Luffy is secure in the attic before he leaves. He doesn't tell him where he's going, just in case, but Luffy doesn't ask. The blatant trust he has in him after so little time leaves Usopp speechless, and he hopes he's not about to make a terrible mistake. But if he doesn't go, he might just go crazy from all the worry and fear.

Sanji's working when he arrives. Usopp can't remember a time when Sanji wasn't working, apart from school and _Hitler Youth_, and he supposes it's a good thing. Who knows what the Youth might have had in mind for him otherwise, since he's the very image of a perfect german: Tall, strong, blonde, blue eyes. Sometimes, in his more honest hours, Usopp is kind of glad he's at the bottom of the food chain - but as he watches Sanji flip and turn the ingredients in his frying pan, cigarette easy between his lips, Usopp remembers the time he would've given anything to be as cool as Sanji. It wasn't all that long ago, before ...

"Knock, knock," he says as loud as he dares.

Sanji looks up, surprise on his face. "Usopp? What's up?"

"Hey." Usopp shifts uncomfortably on his feet. "Uhm, where's your dad?"

"Outside, telling off some shitty customers. You know how it goes. Why?"

Usopp imagines Chef Zeff bashing in the heads of some men in SS-Uniform with his wooden leg, no sign of what he went through, and feels a little better.

"I've got something to tell–" he swallows and shuffles up next to him. "I need your help. But you can't tell anybody!"

Sanji raises his visible eyebrow. "That you need my help? That's hardly new."

It doesn't sting a lot, because it's true and Usopp knows Sanji doesn't mean it that way. It still stings, though. "This is different. It's life and death."

Anyone else would have asked wryly if the bombs were coming, but Sanji doesn't. Sanji takes out a knife and starts chopping next to the stove, lets the silence between them stretch and boil. With every second slipping by, a stronger shiver passes through Usopp's body. He can't hold himself back any longer.

"There's a boy in my attic," he blurts out.

Sanji's finger still for the fraction of a second. "And by boy, I guess you don't mean Carrot."

"No," Usopp whispers.

Another pause.

"And you thought of this brilliant idea, how?"

"I didn't! He was just _there_, Sanji!" Usopp waves his hands wildly and Sanji pushes him aside to add the chopped up pieces to the pan. "It was my hiding spot and I found him there, alone."

For a while, there's no sound but the sizzle of the food. Then Usopp delivers the punch.

"He's _starving_, Sanji."

Sanji's shoulders sag and he closes his eyes briefly. "You're a shitty friend," he mumbles.

Usopp's heart pounds. "So you'll help?"

He gets a slight shove away from the stove. "Come again at seven. I trust you can make up a story for your Missus."

Usopp knows better than to say thanks, but he does it anyways, softly into the wind outside. He's not alone with this anymore.

-X-

For a while, everything gets better. Of course, Luffy is still hungry, but Usopp suspects he'll always be hungry, since that belly seems to be made out of rubber. But he doesn't look and feel like he's starving anymore. The downside: More food makes Luffy even more awake, he practically vibrates with energy. Usopp can barely keep up with him, and he can't spend every free minute up here or the others will get suspicious. The circles under his eyes must be deep, because Sanji chews up several cigarettes before he breaks one day.

"You look shitty. How's the bottomless pit?"

Usopp yawns. "Like a rubber ball."

It's a delicate code they're speaking, one that any officer could crack and if Usopp would be any less tired, he might think of something more elaborate.

Sanji lights a new cigarette.

"Is there another way up?"

"Over the roof," Usopp answers and frowns. "Why?"

"I'll be there at ten. You'll introduce us."

Usopp opens and closes his mouth. He knows he should refuse, because Sanji can't spare any time, it's going to be impossible. But it's also why he has to accept his help: Sanji knows how it feels to be exhausted and he won't allow it if he can't help it.

-X-

Sanji is punctual. Usopp has barely started to explain to Luffy that they're going to have a visitor, when Sanji slips through the window and lands in front of them. They stare at each other for minutes, while Usopp hovers nervously between them.

Then Luffy's face is split into half by one of his blinding grins. "You're the one who makes that delicious food?"

"Yes," Sanji says tersely. "And you better be fucking grateful."

"Shishishi!" Luffy offers his hand. "I'm Luffy, and I'm gonna be a Free Man!"

Sanji raises his eyebrow inquisitively at Usopp at the term, but takes the hand. "Sanji."

That's not enough for Luffy. "What's your dream?"

"Excuse me?"

"You need to have a dream," Luffy insists. "Usopp's gonna be a brave man, and you?"

"I," Sanji glances at Usopp for help, but then he surprises both of them when his mouth continues like it has a mind of it's own: "I want to cook everything!" He blushes. "I mean, everything, not only german, with all the original ingredients."

He doesn't need to elaborate for them, or take it back. Usopp knows he told the truth, and maybe Luffy senses it, too, because he nods and smiles, as if the things they wanted were perfectly in the realm of possibility.

-X-

They manage to keep Luffy relatively subdued this way for some weeks, at least they think they do. Outside, the world gets tense. Sometimes, Usopp worries about Kaya, wonders if the Reich thinks she's too weak, too sick to be german, but then he remembers that her parents are rich, members of the party and the father off being an honorable officer and then Usopp breathes a little easier - just for a while, before the next wave of paralyzing nausea hits.

They say the troops are stuck on stalemate in Africa, that they can't beat the English, even out from their homeland. And the east is restless. The Missus says the Führer should just steamroll the Sovjets.

Usopp doesn't know what he should pray for, because they need to win, but Luffy also needs to live, so he hopes the war just keeps them all away, tries to believe Luffy will make it. But he never thought the battle would come to him without a warning - all he gets is the crash echoing through the streets of the city, like a violent clap of thunder.

For one terrible hour, Usopp thinks it happened, if finally did; it's a bomb! - but the Missus turns up the Volksempfenger and he learns that it was an one-man english aircraft, crash-landing close by. There's no trace of the passenger, they say he must have taken a parachute. Everyone is asked to keep their eyes and ears peeled for the Englishman.

The Missus snorts. "They won't take long to find this idiot."

Usopp thinks she ought to be more worried, but he's just glad there weren't any bombs. He wonders if the English are as evil as they say, because they teach plenty of things about Jews that don't fit Luffy at all - maybe they're wrong about everyone else, too. If ... well, if anyone tries to hide him, though ... he can only feel sorry for them. But he isn't supposed to think about stuff like that, besides, he has enough on his mind as it is, so he excuses himself.

He's on Duty, as Sanji has dubbed it, which means he has to check as often as he can dare. They both know, instinctively, that Luffy should never be left alone for too long, so maybe Usopp should have known. Still, when he climbs up through the trapdoor, he is utterly unprepared for the sight in front of him. In fact, Usopp is kind of proud that he doesn't faint.

Luffy is no longer alone, and the man sitting next to him, taking a nap like he's never slept anywhere else, is definitely not Sanji.

* * *

_Reviews make me want to tap-dance. Even if that would end quite ugly._


	3. (Zoro)

Congratulations to those who guessed right about Zoro! While I am aware that the war affected people all over the world, I am limited by the setting. Even so, while guessing, keep in mind that there have been more battlefields and fronts than the obvious, both literally and figuratively.

* * *

-X-

_When Usopp climbs up through the trapdoor, he is utterly unprepared for the sight in front of him. In fact, Usopp is kind of proud that he doesn't faint._

_Luffy is no longer alone, and the man sitting next to him, taking a nap like he's never slept anywhere else, is definitely not Sanji._

-X-

Luffy smiles up at Usopp, as if it's perfectly normal to sit next to someone dressed in a mangled, bloodied uniform of the Royal Airforce.

"This is Zoro," he says and pokes the side of the sleeping man. Like a child who caught a rare bug on the street and sticks its jar under everyone's nose in pride, he proclaims: "I found him!"

Usopp feels like his head is floating somewhere up in the woodworks, trying to flee because it refuses acknowledge any further involvement in this insane horror. He sinks to the floor and Luffy prattles on.

"He can't speak german at all, but I managed." Luffy nods confidently. "He's hungry. He asked me about Tuna."

Usopp swallows, tries to reach out for his numb mind, or his voice. "You don't say," he allows.

_Tunis_, his reluctantly recovering brain corrects. He meant Tunis, it's the only thing that makes sense, because no country is stupid enough to send a sole soldier into enemy territory in a time like this and because Africa is the place they need them - it's Tunis, but that's ridiculous. It's in an entirely different direction.

Luffy's face falls. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, Luffy," Usopp wrings his hands. "So much. He's– he's the _enemy!_"

Luffy doesn't even blink. "So am I."

For a few seconds, Usopp forgets to breathe and just stares at him. He never thought ... he'd always assumed Luffy wasn't aware of it, an unimportant little detail in the fine print he never bothered to read. He always prances about like he doesn't know the first thing about their society, their war, and then there's the utterly naive way the swastika and the jewish star are still pinned side-by-side on his lapel.

Usopp chokes on a hasty gasp for air and sees his ship sinking, fast. Cold sweat breaks out on his forehead. "I think I have the I-can't-hide-an-english-soldier-disease!"

The look Luffy gives him is sympathetic, even patronizing. It looks funny in his boyish, open face. "It's alright, you'll get better."

Usopp tries a different angle. "I can hardly keep you hidden, how on earth–"

"He doesn't talk much," Luffy says. "He's very quiet, and a soldier. And," Luffy points to the man's arm and chest, "he's injured. It's my hiding spot. He stays."

Resolute black eyes force Usopp to look away. And like that, he knows it's useless to argue, even say childish things like "_It was my spot first!"_. He stares at the man's sleepy frown and wonders how on earth an infinitely sized problem could even double.

-X-

Sanji, as expected, isn't the least bit pleased by the new arrangement. The moment he comes sliding through the window, he is greeted by a dagger to his throat, narrowed eyes and growled words none of them understand. The bandage Usopp has just tried to wrap around the soldier's arms is clutched forgotten in his hands as he cowers down reflexively, the fear of having a demon in their midst increasing tenfold.

The world seems to still and narrow down to these two men, staring each other down like they want to rip each other's throats out. They could, Usopp realizes in abject horror, because one is a trained soldier and the other is being trained to be one, the best trainee they have.

"Usopp," Sanji says slowly, dangerously, biting through his cigarette, "What is the _Brit_ doing here?"

A whimper escapes Usopp's throat. He manages to bring out "Luffy" and hopes Sanji understands him. The boy in question pops up right between the cook and the soldier, oblivious to the tension or maybe not, so that the soldier has no choice but to lower his weapon.

"Zoro - Sanji, Sanji - Zoro," Luffy says brightly and waves between them. "Sanji is a cook, yum-yum!" He munches and rubs his stomach for emphasis.

Zoro glowers and sheathes his weapon. "Nazi," he snarls.

_Oh no, _it shoots through Usopp's head, as he watches Sanji's shoulders stiffen. The uniform of the Youth can't hide it, the swastika shifts as if laughing at them all.

"You," Sanji hisses, "have no fucking clue."

Usopp thinks of the thinning rope Sanji tries to keep his balance on. How chef Zeff secretly feeds everyone that knocks on his door, Jew or Communist or otherwise, only barely protected by a bunch of medal from the last great war, because he won't let anyone experience what he did. How Sanji works overtime and excels in the Youth to divert attention. How he is this close to being drafted.

Maybe Zoro can see it, because he huffs and plops back down next to Usopp, holding out his arm to him as a sign to continue. Maybe he got the reaction he wanted, tried to judge by their body language if he could trust them. Luffy somersaults around them, wondering aloud about the dream of his new friend.

"He's going to be the best," he decides, rolling past Usopp and humming, "the best of something."

Sanji takes out a new cigarette. His fingers are shaking.

"Fuck, Usopp," he whispers. "We're in deep shit."

Usopp doesn't have an answer, only wraps the gauze tightly around Zoro's bicep and checks the one around his chest, because blood will always betray if you let your guard down.

-X-

There's a detail, something glaringly obvious and on the tip of his tongue, but Usopp remembers too late. His head seems trapped in the recurring decision between knee-jiggering terror and feeble resignation and the grim anticipation the new occupant has brought with him makes good work of Usopp's nerves. Zoro starts teaching Luffy how to fight, with gruff gestures and rough words that Luffy can somehow make sense off. When Usopp sees them at it, the terrifyingly real prospect of how they might need it and that it won't help a bit strikes him deeper than the realization that Luffy already knows how to throw a punch._ I'm strong,_ he remembers him saying with absolute confidence.

_But I'm not,_ Usopp thinks and it's proven all too soon, because he forgot the detail. He goes to school with his mind full of worries and fears and lies he makes up ahead of time, just in case someone asks. About anything. His feet move on their own, shuffling down the familiar path.

Then someone suddenly blocks his path and he barely manages to stop in time. He is incredibly relieved about it when he looks up, because he's sure running _her _over will have dire consequences.

"You're _hiding _someone."

Her eyes are alight with wicked glee and it sends cold shivers down his spine. It's over, he thinks in panic. His mouth takes control automatically.

"Oh, you mean the general! Yes, he's come to visit and he wants me to join his sniper squat as soon as I'm eligible, can you belie–"

She cuts him off. "Don't mess with me, Longnose." She sniffs disdainfully. "I can smell it on you. It was only a matter of time. Scum consorts to scum and everybody knows you're a son of filth."

"They're not," Usopp says, but his voice is brittle.

She looks at him with pity. "You should have known better."

They stand there, a few yards from school, while she musters him and Usopp can't do anything but await his fate, shivering. For what has to be the first time, he would like nothing more than bolt to the building as fast as possible, if it means escaping her grasp.

"Show me," she says suddenly.

His head whips up and he stares at her.

"Show me," she repeats, "and we might works something out."

The way she says it makes it clear that her silence will cost more than Usopp will ever be able to afford. But if the head of the local branch of the _Leage of German Maidens_ tells him to do something, Usopp can't to anything but hurry and comply if he wants to keep his head.

* * *

_Someone insisted on me tap-dancing despite my warnings. Now all I'm able to do is wave, but doctors said reviews will make me recover swiftly.__  
_


	4. (Nami)

Sorry for the long wait. Aside from other projects, this chapter gave me a bit of trouble–mostly because I couldn't decide between my ideas for the next character for the longest time, but also because I scene I hadn't planned on wormed its way in ... Anyway, congrats for those of you who had their money (harhar) on our navigator!

* * *

_-X-_

_... They stand there, a few yards from school, while she musters him and Usopp can't do anything but await his fate, shivering. For what has to be the first time, he would like nothing more than bolt to the building as fast as possible, if it means escaping her grasp._

_"Show me," she says suddenly._

_His head whips up and he stares at her._

_"Show me," she repeats, "and we might works something out."_

_The way she says it makes it clear that her silence will cost more than Usopp will ever be able to afford. But if the head of the local branch of the Leage of German Maidens tells him to do something, Usopp can't to anything but hurry and comply if he wants to keep his head._

-X-

The Missus is pleasantly surprised he brings a girl home, a girl that isn't sickly looking Kaya who isn't able to attend the League but what a true, german girl should be. She outdoes herself with compliments and pleasantries and even brings out their last biscuits. Usopp's hand grasps some before he can even think about it, but his company is impatient and so the Missus lets them leave for upstairs after much winking in Usopp's direction.

His fingers fumble with the latch, stalling the inevitable. "Please," he whispers.

She frowns. "Open it. It's for your best."

_No, it's not,_ something inside Usopp screams. The fierceness of it makes him momentarily stagger, because wouldn't it be better for him if the Jew and the Brit were gone? He'd have his safe life back, where his lies were just stories and not a matter of life and death and the roles of good guys and bad guys were back to being secure and clear. What is he doing? He's going to _die_, why would he even–

The ladder is down before Usopp knows what he's doing and a familiar, boyish giggle drifts down. Usopp freezes, his fingers inside his pocket clench around crumbling biscuits.

_Luffy._

In an instant, he's crawling up the ladder behind her and his utter_ uselessness_ is the only thing that matters, so he remembers his slingshot. _Drastic times call for drastic measures._ What does it mean, it doesn't matter, it means that he can do _something_.

He is up, his right hand closed around his slingshot and ready to rip it out, but Luffy's cheerful voice makes him halt.

"Oh, hello Nami!"

Usopp's head snaps between them so fast he almost gets a whiplash. How can the model of a german girl know a jewish boy, be so familiar? They couldn't have met earlier, from before all those laws, Luffy never went to their school– Usopp tries to find the answers in her features.

What he gets is a face slack with shock.

"You!" she gasps.

Zoro is up in an instant, standing half-way in front of Luffy before he even looks at the new girl. When he does, Usopp is even more at loss than before: He stares at her, hard, then rolls his eyes and crouches back down to continue his one-arm push-ups.

Nami whirls around. "_You're _one hiding_ them?_"

It's supposed to be an accusation, but her voice wavers and her eyes are wide. Usopp doesn't know what happened between them, but he can tell it throws her off track. What had only been a quiet suspicion in the back of his mind because he'd hoped beyond hope now becomes stark reality, an undoubtable truth: It was her plan to sell them out from the beginning.

There's an opportunity and he takes it.

"Yes," he says, "Or they would be dead."

He pulls out the biscuits, puts one between the teeth of the Brit and is quickly relieved of the other by Luffy. Nami watches him like a cat perched before a kill, one backed up into a corner.

Whatever star Luffy was born under, it is a darn lucky one. Because Usopp sees the fear in her eyes and feels a strange kinship– the kinship of those who realize that for reasons beyond them, they won't be able to betray this jewish boy– and know _exactly_ what it means for their life.

-X-

Her legs won't hold her any longer and she more falls than sits down on the floorboards. Cautiously, Usopp crouches down next to her, tries to not to wince when she shifts away from him. She watches them spar, the two fugitives in his attic and might see how Zoro makes at least an effort to tread silently, while Luffy forgoes it entirely in his enthusiasm.

"They beat up Arlong," she blurts out.

Usopp frowns. "Your boyfriend?"

She nods and rubs her arms to suppress her shivers. By accident, she pushes up the sleeves of her blouse and Usopp catches sight of bruises on her shoulders. He stares at them for minutes after they're covered again and watches the image of the indestructible, infallible head of the german maidens crumble into nothingness.

He's not the only one telling lies.

"He and the gang were making fun of me, ha-harassing me, s-saying it was my job to please them. I don't know, it was horrible." She bites her lip. "And then there they were. Some boy helping a goddamn _english soldier_ along the shadows."

_So that's how he got here_, Usopp thinks. Then he realizes what it means– Luffy is obviously going outside when nobody is there to watch him, who knows who sees him, if he is followed, if–

Nami's next words cut through his tumbling thoughts.

"He said–he said my dream was okay to have," she whispers, "that I didn't need Arlong or the party. That I didn't have to– to be a housewife."

It's a welcome distraction and makes Usopp smile, just a tiny bit, because that's something only Luffy, naive-smart Luffy would say. "What is your dream?"

"I want to travel everywhere." Her eyes light up at the very thought. "I want to draw a_ true_ map of the world."

Usopp wonders what's not true about the maps they have, if she means only a world conquered by the race of Aria is right. In that case, he doesn't understand what she's doing here, why Luffy's words would mean so much to her.

Apparently, Nami doesn't know herself.

"I _hate_ you Jews and Brits and Scum," she bits out with sudden vigor. "You're filthy, you're worthless and it's all thanks to _you_ our county suffered so much–you– I could have settled for what they–"

She balls her fists and Usopp flinches, because he is sure she is going to hit him. Instead, he is fixed with a glare. "It's a miracle they haven't been found yet, sloppy as you are. Arlong made sure the SS knows of a jewish boy in the area. The Brit is searched for anyway." She stands up, brushing off her skirt. "From now on, I'm taking over."

Then Nami is being sloppy herself and shrieks when Usopp clamps her in an embrace powered by his enormous relief. He laughs when she fights him off like he has a contagious disease, because he doubts she has a clue how horrible Luffy really is at being a fugitive.

-X-

Before, Usopp thought he was being extremely cautious bordering on paranoid, but now he learns that Nami competes in a different league entirely. What is probably meant to reassure him–working out random schedules and codes with chalk on the attic floor so it can be erased quickly–only serves to frazzle his nerves even more, because he not only does it make him realize how careless he's really been, he sees Nami's determination for what it really is: Bone-deep, naked fear. And, well, if _she's_ afraid, even though no one will ever suspect her ...

"We can't be seen together," is one of the first things she tells him. "It's suspicious. I wouldn't hang out with the likes of you."

Usopp translates it into "more attention on him", equals it to mortal danger and agrees quickly. "Sanji always comes through the window."

She looks up, startled. "Sanji?! That guy is in?" She covers her mouth and tears appear in her eyes. Her shoulders start shaking uncontrollably. After a moment, Usopp realizes she's laughing.

"Him! Of _course_ he would, son of a jew helper that he is." She hiccups, tears running down her face. "God, what a bunch of idiots! _We're doomed_."

Maybe Usopp stares at her a second too long, because she grits her teeth and quickly tries to erase her mistake. "I can't,_ won't _come–"

"Aww, Nami~!" Luffy's head pops up between them. To Nami's credit, she only jumps a little. "You have to visit lots of times, so you don't have to hang out with meanies who don't make you smile!"

Zoro gruffly slaps his hand down on her shoulder, and Usopp can see in Nami's eyes that she knows what it means, too, even as her face flushes red with irritation and she takes a deep, calming breath to keep from shouting at them too loudly about their apparent lack of survival instincts in their society. He catches the corners of her lips tugging up briefly, watches her tense shoulders loosen almost unnoticeably and before he knows it, he's fighting giggles bubbling up his chest and then he's gasping and laughing and Nami berates him to be _quiet, goddamnit_, but Luffy joins in and even _Zoro_ grins at him like he understands.

For the moment, it's alright. He'll be afraid again in a few minutes, but just for this tiny little pocket in time, Usopp can forget about the world outside, forget about appearances and lies and mindless following, because Nami said _"we"_ and they all know the power of that little word too well, especially in this country.

-X-

It's funny, how wonderful and horrible things seem to happen at the same time. On a bigger scale, it's this war: A great thing for his people, a chance to punish all who have wronged them and it's been something wonderful, but these days Usopp isn't sure who his people_ are_ anymore and it's horrible and confusing and he doesn't like it. In small ways, though, it's the biscuit Usopp manages to rope Pepper out of, just to be picked out for examination the same day since Kaya's seat next to him is empty. He fails epically, which should really just be a broad hint for him not to enjoy himself too much, or he will be punished.

Like when, as soon as Sanji has settled against the wall to watch Usopp and the boys playing soldiers during break, Nami stalks up to them – which is plain hilarious, because as soon as Sanji sees her, he sputters and tries to look very dashing while choking on his cigarette.

"I was watching you," Nami purrs with a flutter of her eyelashes, "How about we go out?"

Usopp watches Sanji's last coherent thoughts blink out of existence with a flicker of her hair. Carrot whistles and promptly shot by Pepper and maybe later, Usopp will congratulate him. Sanji blushes crimson, and as he falls to one knee in front of her, stammering, "Yes! Yes, whatever may please you, milady!", Usopp is awfully glad it was him and not Sanji she confronted after all. Because he isn't sure if the guy wouldn't have just lain down on the street then and there and confessed everything to a beautiful girl.

At least, that's what he's thinking, meeting Nami's eyes for a second and seeing the mischief gleaming in them while he conceals a grin at his friend's idiocy. But then Nami turns to Onion, who is reloading his slingshot next to them, and asks in perfect innocence: "Are you using those new rubber bands from the shop? I hear they even come with stars on them!"

The wind seems to die down around them. Sanji tenses, suddenly he's not so much kneeling down as getting ready to jump, even as Onion answers something Usopp doesn't quite catch. He's too busy fighting the goosebumps on his skin, trying to breathe while watching those two stare each other down and it feels wrong, so wrong, like they are all waiting for something to _snap_.

It's always him who is the first to break under pressure.

"She–she's bought one," he squeaks and dodges a missile from Pepper.

Sanji understands. _She's in._ He spits out his mangled cigarette and grinds down his heel on it. For what would probably never happen again, he meets Nami's cheshire grin with no enamored smile of his own.

"I don't know what game you think you're playing, fair lady," he says, _reminds them_, no matter _what_ the boy in the attic may think, "but this is no game."

Then Usopp is shot by Onion and hurriedly falls to the ground as dramatically as he can, so that he can't see the quiet despair in their eyes as they resume their roles of lovesick teenager and manipulative role model. He has enough of his own to spare and just for a little longer, he wants to keep playing pretend: pretend they are not as scared as he is, that they are all just kids playing a never-ending game of hide-and-seek, their conversation about nothing but rubber bands and preparing to give their lives for their country.

-X-

That's it, then: He enjoyed himself, playing soldier, laughing about Sanji, trading secret smiles with Nami when no-one's looking.

He get's home, sneaks up to the attic, and there's Luffy, his face pale and frantic, shaking Zoro's shoulder.

"He won't wake up," he whimpers. "He always wakes up when I tell him to!"

Usopp stumbles to his side, peels away the bandages with shaking fingers and tries not to throw up when he sees the purple and yellow inflamed flesh. He curses, because the idiot must have been in unimaginable pain for days now and _goddamn soldier why didn't he say something, it's going to be to late_–

Luffy grips his arm hard enough to bruise. "He needs to wake up," he demands. He doesn't leave room for argument.

And Usopp gets him a bucket of water and tells him to clean the wound and then he runs, out to the streets and he can't cry because people will wonder what's wrong, but oh, how he wants to cry, because he's entered the pharmacy before he realizes even though he knows he can't pay for any of it. But he says he has to do a school project for common wounds soldiers get in battle and how to treat them, and the term _fatal_ settles on his lungs and squeezes the air out of him.

He sits outside on the sidewalk, hopes the pharmacist thinks he needs time to stomach those images she just conjured. Maybe he should move, go home and try to tell Luffy, at least get away from under the hawk-like gaze of that old woman or she'll know, sooner or later. But he can't, can't face more terrifying young eyes and wishes he could just disappear, won't need to tell anyone anything.

"It's his fault," he tells the stray burying his nose in a clump of grass at the corner of the shop. For a moment, Usopp loses the will to care if anyone else hears him. "He didn't need to bring him. As a prisoner of war, he wouldn't have to die of blood poisoning."

The stray looks at him with somber eyes, clumps of dirt clinging to his fur. Usopp almost has the urge to apologize to him, feels the guilt of trying to pile his burdens on someone who had trouble fighting to survive carrying his own load, even if it was just a dog running from being shot off the streets.

He rummages in his pockets, finds the biscuit he got from Pepper this morning, a morning when the greatest thing he had to fear was discovery and isn't that a reason to laugh hysterically. The stray trots over, ready to bolt, and takes the biscuit from the palm of his hand with great care. It's as if he fears it will disappear if he rushes, or that Usopp will take it away if he gets too close or even hit him, the way he leaps right back to his corner.

And he's right, Usopp thinks, as he shuffles upright and leaves the stray staring after him. He, Usopp, got too close, became too arrogant and dared to question, and now it's being taken away.

* * *

_Now, it ain't hard to guess who's next, is it? You might also be able to guess what kind of character this someone is going to be._

_Thank you so much for your reviews you guys, never fails to make me smile like an idiot. Loving all those guesses and theories, please continue! I'm afraid the focus will remain firmly with the strawhats since I do have a plot-frame, but those theories have made me think more about others; I might include them, if not, it could end up as a bonus chapter. I will say this, though, as a hint: Nationality is not the only way to put people in boxes._


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